Since the origin of humanity volcanism and human life have been strictly linked to each other. Despite the hazards posed by volcanoes, humans have always found good reasons for settlement and development around them, mostly in temperate zones, because of high soil fertility or for the presence of ore deposits and the abundance of volcanic rocks that are good building materials. Evidence from archaeological excavations demonstrates that volcanic and related phenomena often have strongly conditioned human life, causing environmental changes, forcing people to abandon their settlements, and preparing the conditions for later re-colonization and soil exploitation during phases of quiescence. The Mediterranean region is one of the most impressive examples of this interaction, where the development of civilization has been repeatedly boosted and hindered. More recently, as demonstrated by the 2010 Eyjafjallajökull eruption (Iceland), the impact of even moderate-scale eruptions is amplified by the increasing vulnerability of modern society related to growing population, rising standard of living, settlement and industrialization of very exposed regions, and complex interdependencies in commerce, including transport and trade systems at a global scale.

The main goal of this workshop is to promote cultural exchange and interaction among diverse disciplines, so as to enhance our knowledge of the relationships between volcanism, environment and human communities, and exhibit and spreading the best practice of scientific culture dissemination about explosive volcanism.

Multidisciplinary contributions are solicited, mainly in the fields of stratigraphy, eruption dynamics and modelling, petrology, archaeological investigations, archaeometry, environmental impact of volcanic eruptions, relationships between distribution and emplacement of volcanic products and human settlements and structures, archaeological evidence for environmental changes and impact of volcanic activity on humans and animals, volcanic hazard assessment and risk reduction. Contributions on scientific museology and examples of effective dissemination techniques are welcome.

Call for nominations for IAVCEI Awards to be Awarded at the 2017 IAVCEI Scientific Assembly in Portland, USA, August, 2017

Dear Colleagues,

With the next IAVCEI Scientific Assembly to be held in Portland, USA, in August 2017, it is time to invite the IAVCEI community to nominate from its ranks members who have distinguished themselves through their research activities and their contributions to the IAVCEI research community for the various research awards IAVCEI presents. To ensure that long established, older researchers do not have an unfair advantage over younger, well deserving middle career researchers, IAVCEI has several awards, some that are awarded every 2 years, at both IAVCEI Scientific Assemblies and General Assemblies, and some that are awarded only every 4 years at Scientific Assemblies. Scientific Assemblies are the uniquely IAVCEI-only meetings, whereas General Assemblies are IAVCEI meetings, held within the overall structure of IUGG conferences, a little like AGU and EGU conferences.

You are invited to nominate deserving colleagues who you feel should be recognized for their outstanding contributions to volcanological research and the IAVCEI research community in one of the following awards.

Nomination and Award Process:(1) a formal nomination letter, not to exceed three pages, stating the case for the nomination of a person, written by one or more individuals, and also indicating the agreement of the nominated researcher to being nominated(2) an up to date curriculum vitae for the nominee(3) at least three supporting letters originating from different institutions (two such letters are sufficient for the George Walker Awards)(4) if needed, a letter describing explicitly the types of "difficult circumstances" encountered by the candidate should be included for the George Walker Award.(5) Send nomination packs in digital form (as pdf or docx documents) by 30th March 2017 to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. (SUBJECT: IAVCEI Awards nomination)

* ALL candidates must be IAVCEI members when nominated

* All nominators must be IAVCEI members when they nominate a candidate

* Awards will be determined by an Awards Committee, chaired by the IAVCEI President. Decisions of the committee will be notified to the award winners and referees before the registrations deadline to the 2017 Scientific Assembly. The awards, citation and acceptance speeches will be scheduled during the Scientific Assembly, and will be published in the IAVCEI newsletter.

The organizers of the IAVCEI 2017 Symposium encourage you to learn the US visa and travel requirements long before the conference. Visitors to the United States must have a valid passport. A visa is also required for citizens of countries that do not participate with the Visa Waiver Program. It can take 3 to 4 months to obtain a visa.

Letter of Invitation

Whether you are applying for the B-1/B-2 visa or traveling here as a citizen of a Visa Waiver country, you will need a letter of invitation to attend the IAVCEI 2017 Symposium. Please email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to request our official letter of invitation. Please use the name shown on your passport when requesting the letter of invitation. The letter validates the purpose of your travel to the United States.

Dear IAVCEI Community,Great concerns have been raised in this time of considerable political flux in the United States.

The Executive Committee of IAVCEI is reaching out to our community to affirm that international cooperation, equality and inclusiveness are core scientific necessities and that IAVCEI will continue to promote these values and work to develop policies that support the effectiveness of our global scientific enterprise.

We interact as a truly global community and the science of volcanology cannot thrive without that interaction.

We value all of our members equally, and we extend to you our open hand of solidarity and support to achieve our common goals.

On behalf of the international volcanological community the IAVCEI Executive Committee would like to thank James White for his outstanding term as Executive Editor of the Bulletin of Volcanology.

I am sure you will all agree that James and Linda have done a fantastic job of managing the journal over the past years.

As James’s term comes to an end, the IAVCEI Executive Committee (EC) seeks expressions of interest for the role of Executive Editor of the Bulletin of Volcanology, for a term of 6 years, starting in July 2017. The role requires familiarity with a breadth of volcanology topics, as well as commitment to timely editorial handling and improving the journal for volcanologists, including striving to increase its impact factor. Previous editorial experience is required, and we especially invite expressions of interest from existing Associate Editors of the Bulletin or other journals of similar specialization and importance. The role includes funds for an Editorial Administrator. The new Executive Editor and Editorial Administrator will be trained by the current editorial team (James and Linda White) during a month-long transition period. For more information on the specific requirements and time commitments of the role please consult the Terms of Reference below.

“Millennia of Stratification between Human Life and Volcanoes: strategies for coexistence”. Attention will be on the resilience of human societies to volcanic risk, and volcanic environments perceived as resources.